The Youngest Archangel
by RicksIlsa
Summary: 2015 Gabriel Big Bang- Gabriel is the youngest of the four archangels that God created and is known most for his delightful laughter. After the fall of Lucifer and God's disappearance Gabriel believes he will never laugh again. As he watches the lives of the ones he loves most being brutally taken by an old enemy he turns to the Winchesters and Castiel for help. Sabriel & Destiel
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

When God spoke the heavens into existence, he also created the angels—strong, loyal and obedient creatures. There were many, so God made an archangel to lead them. His name was Michael, and he was a true warrior who put his Father's will above all else. Michael would never doubt nor deviate from the path God made for him.

Still, there were several legions of angels and Michael needed assistance in leading them all. So God made a second archangel, Raphael. Like his brother, he was a great warrior. Unlike his brother, he relished the fight above all and frequently ignored the orders to first attempt a peaceful resolution to a dispute.

The two archangels delighted in enforcing the will of God and smiting the wicked. They reveled in protecting God's creations and strove to keep the demons away.

The angels were fierce and though protecting humanity was their ultimate responsibility, the newest of God's creations were quite terrified of their protectors. God decided that more leadership was needed and less warriors. He needed an archangel who would not only protect humanity, but give them a face they could love and trust as well.

Lucifer was beautiful and very different from his brothers. The very sight of him awed the garrisons. His words could bring tears of sadness to the happiest, and smiles to the most down trodden. While Lucifer loved his Father and brothers, he did not care for God's most favored creation. He was jealous of these 'lesser' beings, and despaired that God would have the angels bow to them. Lucifer was very discerning about who deserved his gifts and spent many hours arguing against the protection of humanity.

It was obvious that Lucifer would not be willing to play the role God needed him to, so he decided to make one more archangel.

God filled this new being with human love and compassion. He delighted more in Gabriel than he had in the others. At first, God kept him near at all times. He made sure that Gabriel understood what love was and that everyone deserved it. He impressed the importance of humanity and that they should be loved the most of all.

The other archangels were bothered that God kept them from their youngest brother and were jealous of the attention he received. They called him the "most beloved angel" of God. The Father heard their whispers and finally presented Gabriel to his brothers. Lucifer, the most jealous, took control of Gabriel first. He meant to torment him, use his pretty words to cut his happiness. Instead, he accidentally taught Gabriel how to laugh and bring joy to others through humor. He loved Gabriel easily and any jealousy fled at the sound of his little brother's laughter.

Michael and Raphael were usually on the receiving end of Gabriel and Lucifer's mischief, but the tinkling gales of the youngest archangel's laughter coupled with the pure joy of glorious Lucifer had them quickly shrugging off any grievances.

When his brothers had deemed him ready to begin his work, they returned him to the Father. God told Gabriel that he was to be His messenger, the mouth of God to humanity. He would be sent time and time again to Earth with messages of hope and guidance to the children of God.

As Gabriel had learned to love humanity from his first day of existence, God gave him a special gift: his own human form. Every other angel had to have a vessel to host them if they were to interact with humanity, and they would first have to attain permission of the vessel. The youngest archangel would never require the services of a vessel. Gabriel was humbled and thanked his Father for such a gift, promising to be the best messenger he could be.

Of his three brothers, Gabriel had expected Lucifer to be the one most jealous of his special gift. Lucifer hadn't been bothered though. He despised humanity and as more time went on he made it less and less of a secret.

Michael had been happy for him and, as Gabriel was not a warrior, promised at least one garrison to accompany and protect him on all of his journeys. Raphael had been the jealous one, though he was honest about it and his irritation was at the limits placed on him by their Father, not at Gabriel.

Time went on and Gabriel was happy. He loved the humans, attempting to calm their fears and delivering his Father's messages of hope.

And then one day, it all fell apart.

God summoned Gabriel to the throne room like he always did when a message needed to be delivered. As soon as he appeared Gabriel could sense the sad weariness in his Father.

"Gabriel, will you always love my children and look after them?" he asked.

"Of course, Father," Gabriel answered.

God sighed, and then summoned the other archangels. Lucifer did not arrive alone. He had four garrisons with him. Angels that had accompanied Gabriel on many Earthly missions now stood behind Lucifer glaring at God.

Gabriel huddled behind his Father's throne watching in horror as his world crumbled around him. Michael wrestled Lucifer down to hell and locked him in a cage, Raphael tracked down every angel in Lucifer's garrisons, removing their wings and throwing them down onto the Earth.

Gabriel tried and failed to drown out the cries of the people on Earth as the fallen began to unleash their wrath on them. The cries of the younger angels followed as they rushed to Gabriel for answers and comfort.

Gabriel looked to his Father for help, but God was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Update 5/9- Apparently some brave soul anonymously filed a complaint and left a review letting me know how offended they were by the sex. I guess it didn't fit their definition for an 'M' rating. I invite you to read this fic on Ao3 if you want the original version.

A/N: Warning for brief Gabriel/OFC sex-

 _Italics denotes past_

Chapter One:

A long, long time ago...

 _The village was small. Dust swirled in the air, stirred up by the sandaled feet of the people as they hurried past on their early morning errands. The smell of human sweat and animal stench was already beginning to reach nauseating levels, prompting the people to quicken their steps and get out of the late summer heat._

 _The Archangel Gabriel sat beside the well in the center of the village square, unconcerned by heat or smells. His mind and heart were in turmoil as he stared at the bustle around him._

 _This was his first journey to Earth that was not part of a mission. He wondered if there ever would be another mission. Not so long ago, he had been happy. He had a purpose and was loved by his Father and brothers... but not now._

 _His Father had vanished, no one, not even Joshua knew where he went. Michael had taken over running heaven, but without God to give him his orders, he struggled with every decision. The years passed and the fallen angels had begun to grow their numbers by mating with humans. These new creatures were called nephilim; they resembled men, but were much larger and stronger. They were a terror to humanity, possibly soulless beings whose mothers rarely survived their births and whose fathers raised them to hate Heaven and all that it stood for._

 _Raphael whispered in Michael's ear, convincing him that the nephilim must be destroyed. Behind Michael's back, Raphael rallied several garrisons to support him against Michael, hoping to take over managing Heaven._

 _Gabriel had argued that the nephilim were born innocent and given time and proper instruction could be redeemed from their unfortunate beginnings. He desperately pointed out that God would not want them destroyed. His words had the opposite effect from what he had intended, inciting true anger from Michael._

 _"If Father did not want this, then he shouldn't have left."_

 _Unable to watch the atrocities of his family, Gabriel fled to the small peaceful village that had always been a favorite of his._

 _"Father, what am I supposed to do?" he murmured for what felt like the millionth time._

 _Instead of the silence that the prayer usually received, he heard a woman scream._

 _The crowds had vanished in the heat of mid-day, and Gabriel was on his feet hurrying past the small line of shops turning a corner to a side road._

 _She was beautiful, even with the darkening bruises on her high cheekbones. She lay in the street, arms covering her head in an attempt to protect herself from the man looming over her._

 _He was much larger than any human male that Gabriel ever seen. Nearly twice as tall as Gabriel's human form, and he radiated angelic power. Not grace, but something familiar... cold gray eyes met his in a challenge; a nephilim. That's what he was._

 _The woman screamed again when the creature kicked her in the ribs and Gabriel snapped._

 _He did not move closer, speak, or even frown. He just lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. The creature that had once been a nephilim was now nothing more than ash mixing with the dirt in the hot breeze._

 _Gabriel froze. It was the first time he had ever destroyed anything. He was the messenger, the comforter, and the one who brought healing and hope to mankind. He always had a garrison to protect him and therefore had never seen battle himself; until today..._

 _He would of thought that using his gifts in such a way would make him feel great and powerful, but he just felt empty… like he had lost something important._

 _The woman on the ground let out a pained gasp as she tried to get to her feet. He was at her side in an instant. One touch to her forehead and every bruise, pain, ache, ailment of any kind vanished from her body._

 _She looked up at him in wonder, and then fell to her knees to kiss his feet. His reaction was automatic, grabbing her arms, hauling her back up and pushing her away._

 _"No! Do not bow to me!" he yelled, glaring at her._

 _She gasped and began to tremble in fear of him._

 _Gabriel turned and walked away. He went back to the well and resumed his perch. He dropped his head into his hands. He was on Earth unauthorized, he had killed, and now he had caused fear in one of the beings he had been created to comfort. He never felt so lost._

 _He was about to pray again when he felt a warm hand on his cheek. His head jerked up, startled at the touch. No one had ever touched him before. Not in his human form anyway._

 _It was the woman, and though she still looked frightened, her dark eyes were filled with concern for him. He held himself unnaturally still, and let her stroke his face. Her fingers were warm and he liked the contact. It made him feel warm inside; like something was starting to fill up the emptiness he had first felt earlier._

 _She pulled her hand away showing him the wetness on her palm. He put his own hand to his cheek wiping at the tears he had not known he cried._

 _After a moment of staring at his wet palm, he reached out and grabbed her hand, bringing it back to his cheek. She smiled and moved closer caressing his face with both hands._

 _His eyes closed and he leaned closer to her, nearly moaning when she slid her fingers into his hair to stroke his scalp. The sensations were unlike any he had known before, and they succeeded in distracting him from the despair he had been feeling for years._

 _Just when he was about to pull away and leave, he felt the barest brush of warm lips against his own. His amber eyes flew open in shock as a torrent of feeling rushed over him. He wanted more... he needed more._

 _"Come to my home, my angel, let me comfort you," she whispered, tugging on his hand._

 _With barely a thought he flew them to her small house and allowed her to lead him to her bed. He sat and watched as she slipped out of her simple tunic and walked up to him completely naked._

 _His eyes took in her pleasing form and he reached forward to touch her. She moaned and moved his hands to the places she wanted him to touch. He explored her with wonder at the feel of his human hands and soon added his lips and tongue as it seemed to increase her desire._

 _Gabriel had witnessed humans mating before, but to be a participant in the process was a completely different experience. She tugged at his clothes and he blinked them away. Her hands slipped down between his thighs, and for a moment he had trouble catching his breath as the most pleasurable sensations he had ever experienced washed over him. All he could do was watch as he grew larger and harder with every stroke. He had never seen his human form unclothed before and was happy that the woman seemed pleased with him._

 _Her mouth found his again, and Gabriel let his hands roam her body. He liked touching and kissing... he liked this human way of expressing passion and offering comfort._

 _The woman moved away to lie back on the bed and spread her legs for him, beckoning him closer._

 _The feel of her wet heat surrounding him had him making noises he had not thought himself capable of. As his pleasure grew and grew, he thought of his brothers and how jealous they would be if they knew how amazing this experience was._

 _And then her entire body tightened around him, shuddering in pleasure and he felt himself lose control._

 _"Close your eyes," he commanded, and she immediately obeyed._

 _The light of his angelic form would have burned her eyes out of their sockets, and it took much effort to keep from changing completely. She would not have survived him changing, linked as their bodies were._

 _And then it was over. He rolled off and collapsed next to her, breathing hard. She turned and curled toward him, lips brushing his shoulder before falling asleep._

 _Gabriel lay there, staring at the thatch roof, and struggled to get his thoughts in order. There were choices to be made, and he honestly was not sure what he wanted anymore._

 _He heard Michael call his name and rolled over to press his lips to the woman's forehead. Her eyes opened._

 _"Will you come back?" she asked, knowing that he was about to leave._

 _He stared at her silently for a long moment._

 _"Yes, tonight," he answered finally, and left delighting in the pleased smile that had crossed her lips at his answer._

Present Day:

Sam moved slowly around the bunker picking up empty beer bottles, pizza boxes and an assortment of debris that had accumulated over the past few days. He didn't normally allow things to get so bad, but had been lax in his housekeeping since getting his brother back. Dean was currently in his room blaring Metallica and probably reading porn magazines. Sam didn't mind cleaning though. It gave him something to keep busy. He began to absently hum along to the muffled music coming from down the hall when his cell phone rang.

It wasn't a designated ringtone and he did not recognize the number, but he and Dean knew too many people that might reach out to them for help to just ignore the call.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

The voice was familiar, though Sam couldn't quite place it.

"Um, who is this?"

The caller huffed impatiently.

"I have many names, but I'd prefer you call me 'Loki' right now," he said, quickly.

The familiarity of the voice and the moniker clicked in Sam's mind.

"Ga-" he began, but Gabriel screeched at to him to stop to talking.

"Use LOKI! That other name is dangerous right now. We don't know who may be listening for it," he warned.

Sam was stunned silent. He had never expected to hear from Gabriel again, though Castiel had told him about his encounter with the archangel during Metatron's trick. Castiel hadn't been sure if Gabriel really had been there or not, though Sam got the feeling that the angel hoped it had really been his brother.

"Okay, Loki... I don't understand what's going on. We thought you were..."

"Sam, I don't have a lot of time right now, but I need your help. I can't find you cause of those damn markings my brother carved into your ribs. Where are you?" he demanded.

"The bunker," Sam answered automatically, but then realized that wouldn't mean anything to Gabriel and rattled off the address.

"Shit, that's too far. You guys are going to have to come to me."

"Wait, what?" Sam was so confused.

Gabriel was not impressed.

"I. Need. Your. Help. Like all of my siblings, I can't access my normal method of transportation at the moment. So I'm texting you an address. Grab your brother and mine and get here as fast as you can."

"Why-?" Sam began, but Gabriel had already hung up.

He sighed and hurried to tell Dean.

Unsurprisingly Dean had some reservations.

"No way in hell I'm helping that douche," Dean said as soon as Sam was done relaying the odd phone conversation.

He reached for his headphones and began to recline back on his bed.

"Why not?" Sam asked, though he already knew what Dean would say.

"Why not? Sammy, do I need to start singing 'Heat of the Moment'?" It was a cruel jab, especially considering that Sam was the one who had to carry those awful memories, not Dean.

"He's the one that told us how to put Lucifer back in the cage," Sam offered, tentatively.

"Yeah, while he ran off and hid. There's no way I'm helping that coward."

Sam wasn't sure why he felt such a strong need to help Gabriel. Dean was right: The archangel didn't have a great history of treating them right. But out of all the angels that they had dealt with, Gabriel was the only one who seemed to not only understand, but actually liked humanity just the way it was. In the end, he and Castiel had been the only two on their side.

Sam was bothered by the long disappearance though. Why help them just to vanish for five years? What had he been doing all this time? Despite what Dean said, Sam did not believe that Gabriel had just been hiding the whole time. If nothing else, he was curious.

Sam crossed his arms and shifted his feet.

"Well, something's up with him, Dean. He might be grounded like the rest of the angels, but he is the last remaining archangel. Do you really think ignoring him isn't going to bite us in the ass?"

Dean shut his eyes and groaned in defeat. "Fine. You call Cas. I'm going to shower and pack."

Half a continent away, Gabriel stood on the wrap around porch of an old house and strained to see into the surrounding woods. The house was warded and far from civilization by the forest that surrounded it. They should be safe, but that is what he'd thought last time and the time before that...

"Is everything alright?" a very pregnant woman asked as she stepped outside to join him. He turned to give her a reassuring smile.

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?"

End Chapter One


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

 _Gabriel cautiously approached Michael, unsure of how much he knew of Gabriel's day on Earth. He needn't have worried though, as his eldest brother was too preoccupied with his own troubles to spy on Gabriel._

 _Raphael had been busy, and though Michael had suspected for a while that there were a growing number unhappy with his leadership, it had been a painful blow to discover his own brother behind it. "It's just you and I, brother. I need you at my side to put a stop to this division," Michael ordered._

 _Gabriel agreed, what else could he do? In his heart he became more troubled. He missed Lucifer and the relationship all four of the brothers had had. He missed his Father. And now, he longed to return to Earth and experience more human things._

 _"What of the nephilim?" Gabriel asked, remembering the one he had killed._

 _"They are all but destroyed. I spared one, it was young and its mother begged me not to harm her. She promised to raise it be good. I shall watch it closely and if it is indeed not a threat to mankind, I will leave it be," Michael explained, voice softening._

 _"Raphael used the nephilim to distract me while he garnered support among several of the garrison leaders."_

 _"What do you plan to do?" Gabriel asked._

 _"I haven't decided on punishment-"_

 _Gabriel interrupted._

 _"No! No wrath or smiting! Our brothers have been led astray by lies. You need to tell them the truth and give them a chance to come back to you."_

 _"Lucifer's followers were not given that opportunity," Michael pointed out._

 _"Lucifer and his followers plotted against God. You are not God, Michael!" Gabriel cried._

 _Michael was quiet for so long, Gabriel began to think he may have over stepped his bounds._

 _"That is a very bold thing to say to me, brother," Michael finally responded, his voice chastising._

 _Gabriel didn't care. "What's wrong, brother? Are you going to punish me for saying things you don't want to hear? Will you send me to Hell with Lucifer? If you plan to throw all who disagree with you down there, you will need to find a bigger cage!"_

 _Gabriel started to leave, but Michael called him back._

 _"Where are you going?" he demanded._

 _"Earth. Father may not have messages for humanity at the moment, but I still promised to love and protect them."_

 _"I need you with me," Michael argued._

 _"No, you need to decide what you want to do. Call for me when you figure it out."_

 _And then he was gone._

 _Gabriel returned to the woman again, though he did not go to bed with her. He merely thanked her for comforting him and had her promise to pray to him should she need any assistance._

 _He then went out into the world, mainly visiting with people in taverns and markets. He liked to hear what they thought of the world, and the sort of mundane human things that interested them. Gabriel discovered that he liked the taste of honey, sugar, and other sweet things. Things like oats, rice, and beans were so bland he decided that one must need to feel hunger before such things could possibly be enjoyed._

 _When he saw good people struggling, he helped. He saw the world through the eyes of humanity and decided it was good. God had done well._

 _Days turned to weeks and weeks to months with no word from Michael. And then, two months after his last conversation with his brother, he was summoned in prayer by the woman he had saved from the nephilim._

 _Gabriel flew to her quickly, and though she looked tired she did not seem to be in immediate danger. "Why have you called for me?"_

 _She looked nervous, and took a breath before speaking, "The midwife says I am with child." Gabriel blinked, but didn't say anything. "It is your child, as I have lain with no other but you since my husband died two years ago," she said, and Gabriel could hear the truth in her words._

 _Of course this would be the moment Michael would finally call him back to heaven._

 _"You should pack up things you will need. I will return soon and take you some place safe," he promised and left._

They spent the next three days driving across the country. Dean bitched the whole time, but Sam could tell his brother enjoyed being on the road again. They had to double back, losing a full day's travel, to pick up Castiel when the angel's car died on him.

Hannah had been displeased to separate from the other angel, but felt her time would be better spent checking on things in heaven. Castiel had chosen to not tell her about Gabriel.

"There are rumors that a nephilim will be born soon. I will attempt to validate this and report in when I have information," she told Castiel before driving off in a stolen SUV that Sam had hot-wired for her.

The three loaded into the Impala, Dean and Sam up front with Castiel in the back. The drive started off quiet, but soon Dean was ranting at Castiel about proper vehicle maintenance, unsatisfied with Castiel's answers regarding how often the oil must be changed and the tires rotated.

Castiel nodded earnestly at everything Dean was telling him, but Sam noticed the angel's eyes were slightly glazed and was probably not paying much attention to the lecture.

Once Dean had finished, Sam turned to look back at Castiel. "So, nephilim, that's the child of an angel and a human, right?" he asked.

Castiel's eyes focused sharply on Sam, and he shook his head. "No, angels cannot have children. A nephilim is the offspring of a fallen angel and a human," he explained, cautiously.

"A fallen angel? So, if you knocked some chick up she'd have a Nephilim?" Dean asked, eyes flicking to the review mirror to see Castiel. The angel shrugged.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. A fallen angel is one who has lost both wings and grace, either by removing it themselves or having it forcefully removed as a punishment. When this happens, the essence of the angel 'falls' to Earth and is planted into the womb of a human woman to be reborn. Like Anna when you first met her.

As the fallen angel ages, it will remember itself. Usually he or she will be very angry and unhappy as their memory returns. They end up as soulless humans. They cannot reproduce with each other, but they can with humans. This is how a nephilim is created."

Sam and Dean exchanged a strained glance, but kept quiet and waited for Castiel to continue.

"Technically angels cannot procreate. A human could not survive a union with an angel unless the angel was in a human vessel, in which case the vessel would be the parent and not the angel. My case is different in that my vessel's soul is long dead and gone. And no matter how many times I die, I always return to this form. I am not technically 'fallen' anymore since I possess grace, even though it isn't mine. So I'm really not sure if any offspring I fathered would simply be Jimmy Novak's children or nephilim—or something else entirely." Dean paled and Sam's eyes widened. "I have no plans to find out," Castiel said with a reassuring smile.

Dean cleared his throat and refocused on the road. "Don't remember that story from Sunday School," he said flippantly.

Sam shook his head and mulled over the new information. "So, are nephilim bad?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

Castiel seemed to really consider his answer before speaking, "It is thought that they are soulless irredeemable beings, but I've never had the opportunity to verify this for myself. And so much of what I thought to be true has turned out to be lies so I can't say for certain."

"And if the rumor turns out to be true and Hannah does find a nephilim, what will you do?" Dean asked. Castiel shrugged again.

"It would be a baby, Dean. I sincerely hope it isn't true, because I'm not sure what the angels will do to it."

End Chapter Two


	4. Chapter 4

*Warning for minor character suicide, along with a bloody birth

Chapter Three:

 _Gabriel returned to heaven to find that Michael and Raphael had made a truce of sorts. Raphael convinced Michael that he had seen the error of his ways and asked for forgiveness. Gabriel doubted that Raphael was sincere and would likely try to overthrow Michael again at the next opportunity. Michael just seemed glad to have them both back._

 _Gabriel felt torn. He was glad to be back with his brothers, though he still missed Lucifer and his Father. He also felt weighed down by the responsibility of the woman carrying his child. He wanted to share the news with his brothers but needed to be sure of them first._

 _"Michael? What became of the Nephilim child you spared?" Gabriel asked, cautiously._

 _Michael sighed and Raphael huffed in annoyance._

 _"He should have slayed the abomination as soon as he found it," Raphael growled. Gabriel felt a flash of fear at his words._

 _"What happened?"_

 _"The beast killed its own mother not a day after Michael spared it. A group of fallen are keeping it hidden. We will find it," Raphael promised._

 _"So, the fallen had already gotten to it? They twisted it..." Gabriel started to defend, but was interrupted by a sad Michael._

 _"Raphael is right. I should have killed it. That woman's death is on me."_

 _"But if..."_

 _"I will speak no more on this, brother."_

 _Michael's tone left no room for arguing._

 _There was no way he could tell them of his child now._

 _"I wish to return to Earth. I need to stay among the humans," Gabriel said, breaking the silence that had fallen._

 _"Why?" Michael asked._

 _"Father's last order was for me to love and protect them. It's easier to do that on Earth than up here. I mean, unless you have need of me?"_

 _Raphael made a disgusted noise._

 _"I always have need of you, Gabriel. The younger angels miss you, and we all miss your laughter," Michael admitted._

 _Gabriel had not laughed since Lucifer fell and God left. He doubted he would ever have the desire to do so again._

 _He sighed but held his ground. "I was created to comfort humans, not angels. I must fulfill my purpose. But I will return whenever you call me." Michael was silent for a long moment._

 _"Very well, Gabriel. If that is what you want. You may go, but you need not wait on my call should you wish to return."_

 _The woman was ready to go when he arrived. Gabriel, along with her and her cousin, who would act as a mid-wife and companion during her pregnancy, quickly flew them to an empty island, half a world away. It would provide what the women needed to survive just in case something happened to Gabriel._

It was nearly twilight on the third day before they finally arrived at the address that Gabriel text to Sam. The house was secluded, surrounded on all sides by miles of forestry. Dean cursed at what the dirt road was doing to his baby.

He parked the car as close as he could to the house, there was no driveway. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he cautiously climbed out of the car, Sam and Castiel mimicking his wary movements.

"I got a bad feeling..." he said, pulling out the colt at the same time Sam held up Ruby's knife and Castiel's angel blade materialized.

Suddenly the front door blew off its hinges followed by a burst of bright white light. Castiel let out yell and was gone. Sam and Dean stared at each other in shock.

"Someone must have activated an Enochian angel banishing ward," Sam guessed, taking the lead as Dean covered him.

Their movements were slow and calculated as they made their way toward the house. They climbed the steps to the porch and saw a man lying in a pool of blood in the front entry way. The sigil beneath his bloody hand told them he had been the one to activate the ward.

Sam pressed a couple of fingers to the man's pulse point at his throat, and then looked up at Dean, shaking his head. The man was dead.

The brothers left the body where it was and made a sweep of the first floor. No one else was there, but there had clearly been a struggle. Broken glass and debris from picture frames, wall hangings, knickknacks and mirrors littered the ground. Sam righted a lamp on an end table and turned it on. The light illuminated a picture that had Sam doing a double-take:

It was of John Winchester standing next to a small boy in front of what looked like Cinderella's castle in Disney World. By the way they were dressed, Sam guessed it would have taken place in the late 80s or early 90s.

The sound of a woman screaming broke through Sam's shock, and he hurriedly stuffed the picture into his pocket, running for the stairs.

Three men were dragging a very pregnant woman into a bedroom at the top of the stairs. She struggled and fought them, but was not strong enough.

"Hey!" Sam yelled out, hoping to distract them enough so they could save the woman. The largest man muttered something in an odd language, and the other two turned to face Sam and Dean. The door shut behind them and the woman let out another pain filled scream.

Sam rushed forward, stabbing the guy with Ruby's knife. The guy didn't even flinch and Sam watched in shock as he simply pulled the knife from his chest and tossed it aside.

Sam had just enough time to exchange a panicked look with Dean before he was flying through the air and crashing into a wall.

Gabriel's foot ground the accelerator of the SUV to the floor. Never had he missed his wings more than at that moment. All his hopes rested on the Winchester brothers. When the sigil had been activated, Gabriel had been relieved to see the Impala and had caught Castiel before he could be hurtled across the globe.

He might not have his wings or be at full strength, but being an archangel still had perks. And though the banishing sigil had thrown him across town, it had been easy to use the town church as an anchor to hold him there. Even with Castiel's added weight, he had succeeded with no problem.

Gabriel had left Katrina's car at the church, just in case Jonathan had to activate the ward. It meant a good half hour drive back to the house, but at least they didn't end up in Guam or have to return on foot.

The speed dial on the dash had long since reached its maximum and Gabriel felt a slight metallic taste in his mouth at the drain on his power reminding him that he was not at full strength.

His golden eyes flicked to the passenger seat, where Castiel had yet to regain consciousness. He was dismayed at how weak his brother had become. He had known since Metatron's "trick" that Castiel was running on borrowed time with that stolen grace. Gabriel had selfishly hoped that his brother and the Winchesters would have figured out what to do about Castiel's grace by now. He should have known that solving that problem would fall to him.

That would have to wait until later though. Jonathan and Katrina were his priorities at the moment.

Though he was running low on power, he needed Castiel to hang on long enough to get through tonight. And that meant expending even more. It would delay their arrival, but it had to be done. Castiel was almost gone.

Castiel groaned and clenched his eyes shut. His entire being hurt and he felt the stolen grace inside him flare hot as it tried to heal him. It was too hot. Everything was too hot. This was it; the grace was burning him up. At least it had drained away faster this time, and hadn't left him a sick, weak mess for weeks on end. He wondered fleetingly if God would resurrect him yet again or if this was really it. He only wished he had been able to say goodbye to Dean.

Suddenly, the heat was broken by an ice cold hand slapping his face.

"Castiel, open your eyes!" Gabriel's voice was demanding his obedience. Unable to resist a command like that from an archangel, Castiel forced his eyes to open.

Gabriel's eyes were glowing, and his hand wrapped around Castiel's throat. He felt a searing cold rush through him, tamping down the flames of the stolen grace until it felt like nothing more than the warm glow of a candle.

The archangel let go of him and gasped, clearly he had used up a lot of power to do that. Castiel was full of questions, but Gabriel was not interested in answering any of them.

"Everyone in the house is in danger, including Sam and Dean. Once they are safe, I will answer your questions. Now shut up and let me concentrate," Gabriel commanded and increased the speed of the vehicle.

Castiel clamped his lips together, braced his arms on the dash and willed the car to go even faster.

When Sam came to, Dean was wrestling with one of the men and falling down the stairs. The second man was on the floor, head liberated from his body. So apparently beheading triumphed over stabbing. Dean had been busy during Sam's "nap".

"Dean!" Sam called out looking over a balcony at his brother, whose fall had been broken by the other man. They were still struggling.

"Go get the girl, Sam! I got this one," his brother called, landing a deep slice on the man's throat with Ruby's knife.

Sam nodded, though Dean couldn't see him, and ran for the room the other man had taken the woman into earlier and bust through the door. She was lying on the floor, curled protectively around her belly. There was blood on her dress and on the knife in the man's hand.

The man was huge with cold gray eyes. He was smiling at her wickedly while fingering the bloody knife. The smile dropped from his face when he saw Sam and swore.

Sam didn't take time to think, he just launched himself at the man. The man was strong, but Sam was smart and he had had years of experience fighting things stronger than him. It only took a few minutes to get the upper hand, and soon Sam was sawing the man's head off with his own knife. He fell to the ground and Sam kicked the head away from the body, just in case.

Sam turned to look at the woman, who was very white and still. A dark puddle of blood grew larger beneath her with every passing second.

"Hey, hey. C'mon look at me," Sam said falling to his knees beside her and tilting her head toward him.

There was a small flicker of life in her eyes that was quickly fading. She began urgently whispering something, and Sam dropped his head down closer to her mouth so he could hear.

"I'm dying, practically dead already... but the baby is alive. You have to get her out. Get her out now. Save her, please," she whispered, weakly grasping at Sam's hand.

"How?" he asked, out of his depth.

She nodded at the knife in his hand.

He shook his head, eyes wide with fear.

"You have to!" she insisted, desperate.

There was no way he could do that.

"You aren't dead yet. If I cut you open, you will die," he protested. She shook her head and sighed.

"Don't you understand? She is more important than me! She's special; you have to take care of her. Keep her safe, please!"

Sam nodded, hoping against hope that Gabriel or Castiel would show up and heal her. Hell, even Dean would be a welcome sight right now, but he could still hear his brother struggling downstairs.

Listening for his brother gave the woman the distraction she needed, and before Sam could blink she had slit her own throat using the knife that had been in his hand only a second before.

"No!" he yelled, but it was too late. Dark blood spilled down her neck, soaking the top of the dress. Empty eyes told him that she was gone.

He swore and took a breath nearly gagging on the smell of gore and death.

Sam knew that the baby would be dead in a matter of minutes, he had to act now.

The SUV had barely come to a stop before Castiel jumped out. He turned to look at Gabriel, who was leaning heavily against the driver's side door and panting slightly.

"Go! I'm right behind you," he gasped waving for Castiel to keep moving.

He nodded and ran for the house.

Upon entering he saw a huge man on top of Dean, choking him. Dean was fighting for all he was worth, but it wouldn't be enough. Filled with a righteous anger at seeing Dean fighting for his life, Castiel ran forward and snapped the man's neck. Dean gasped and rolled away, coughing.

Unfortunately a snapped neck only slightly slowed the other man down, and suddenly Castiel was having the life choked out of him.

Luckily Dean was able to grab the knife and decapitate his attacker.

Blue eyes met green and held for what seemed like an eternity. There was so much unspoken between the two of them. Castiel opened his mouth, not sure what he would have said when Sam cried out above them.

"I need help up here!" the younger brother bellowed.

Dean gestured for Castiel to go, still struggling to regain his breath. The angel hurried up the stairs and into the bedroom where Sam was. He stopped short at the sight of Sam holding a very bloody newborn baby.

"Cas, do something! I can't get her to breathe," Sam pleaded, holding out the unnaturally still infant.

Castiel came forward, but did not take the baby. Instead he placed two fingers to her forehead. A few seconds later, she let a sound between cough and a cry. Sam immediately turned her almost all the way upside down as she began coughing up fluid out of her lungs. She was alive. He had done it.

Castiel gave him a weak smile before the angel collapsed.

End Chapter 3


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

 _Michael left him in peace for the duration of the woman's pregnancy. Gabriel made sure to visit heaven periodically and had taken to telling Michael tales of the different villages he had visited. At first his brother had listened with amusement to Gabriel's stories but soon grew bored with them, interrupting him to summon his lieutenant Zachariah for reports._

 _Gabriel did not like Zachariah. The man was hideous—cruel, egotistical, and boring and, because of this, would always make excuses and leave whenever the angel appeared. After months of this, Michael barely seemed to notice his longer absences. But that didn't mean that no one had noticed..._

 _The woman had passed her ninth month of pregnancy two weeks prior. Both women assured Gabriel that the child would arrive at any moment. He was ready for this business to be over and done with._

 _Soon after her labor pains began, Gabriel was summoned by Raphael. They met on top of a mountain a few thousand miles south of the island._

 _"Brother? Why have you called to meet here and not in heaven?" Gabriel asked when he arrived, fearing the answer._

 _Raphael glared at him and he swallowed._

 _"I know not where you are hiding the woman, but I have heard tales from her village. She carries a nephilim. Why do you protect it?"_

 _Gabriel frowned. "We do not know it is a nephilim she carries," he defended._

 _"It is the child of a nephilim! The people of her village knew she was attacked by one, and then turned up pregnant. That is not a coincidence, brother," he sneered._

 _Gabriel and Raphael glared at each other for several long minutes before the younger archangel sighed, admitting sadly, "It is not the nephilim's child, but my own that the woman carries."_

 _It was almost comical how shocked Raphael looked._

 _"That's... no, angels cannot impregnate humans..." he stammered, shaking his head. Gabriel scoffed._

 _"No, angels can't. But then no other angel has a human form like I do," he pointed out._

 _Raphael shook his head again and looked at the ground, then lifted his head to meet Gabriel's eyes once again._

 _"If your words are true, then you should hurry back to her. I summoned you on Michael's orders so that he could take care of the nephilim without your interference," Raphael admitted guiltily._

 _With merely a thought, Gabriel returned to the small island hideaway._

Dean was still struggling to get his breathing under control and assessing the damage to his body. He was getting too old to be tumbling down staircases. Nothing seemed to be broken, but he had quite a few bruises and possibly a cracked rib. He slowly got to his feet knowing that as bad as he felt now, it would be ten times worse the next day.

A gasp at the front door alerted him to Gabriel's presence.

"Well it's about time you showed your face..." he groused, but stopped talking when the archangel fell on top of the dead man in the hall and started sobbing; heart wrenching, guttural sobbing.

The sight of Gabriel's grief made Dean's own eyes prick with sympathetic tears. The hunter cleared his throat and shook his head.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked, softer than he meant to.

Gabriel ignored him, muttering in Enochian over the man and gently closing his eyes. "I failed. Nothing matters anymore," Gabriel whispered and buried his face in the dead man's shirt, sobbing again.

"Dean? I could use a little help," Sam called from the top of the stairs. In his right arm he held a small, sleeping baby, bundled up in a t-shirt while his left helped support a very out-of-it Castiel.

Dean hurried up the stairs and took Castiel's weight from Sam so that his brother could get a better grip on the infant. He could tell from the look on Sam's face that he would have preferred that Dean take the baby. "Hey, I took care of the last baby. This one's all yours," he said and maneuvered Castiel down the stairs.

Gabriel finally looked up at Castiel as he and Dean approached. "Katrina?" he asked hopefully.

Castiel shook his head. "I'm sorry brother. She was gone before I got there. But I did manage..." he trailed off looking over his shoulder at Sam.

The younger Winchester held out the bundle toward the archangel.

"Uh, it's a girl," he said and was stunned at the varying emotions that crossed Gabriel's face.

Relief, joy, anger, sorrow, and finally a deep weariness settled over him. "Right. We need to leave now," he said getting to his feet and stepping away from Sam.

Realizing that he wasn't going to be able to pass the baby to anyone else, Sam sighed and reluctantly cradled the little thing to his chest. She was tiny, and his large hands made her look even smaller. Red and a little swollen, covered with smudges of fluid he didn't want to think about she slept peacefully, but would probably wake up hungry soon.

"Wait just a minute. We aren't going anywhere until you explain what's going on," Dean demanded, crossing his arms stubbornly. Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"There will be more of them coming soon to make sure the job was finished. We need to be long gone by then. And I'm not saying another word until we are somewhere warded against heavenly eavesdroppers," he responded, mimicking Dean's stance.

The hunter glanced out the window and searched the horizon. He didn't see anything but that didn't mean that Gabriel was wrong.

"Fine, let's go."

He turned and helped Castiel out of the house and to the car.

"Ride with me, Sam," Gabriel said in a tone that Sam had never heard before. It made him want to obey without question.

His feet automatically started toward the SUV, even as his gaze flew to Dean who raised an eyebrow at him. Sam just shrugged and continued on relieved to see a baby car seat in the SUV.

"So, you following me?" Dean called to Gabriel after Castiel was safely buckled into the passenger seat of the Impala. Gabriel shook his head.

"No, you are following me. It will be faster that way," he said, and slid into the SUV.

Dean raised an eyebrow at that, but slid behind the wheel without protest. He was tired, they all were. And if the archangel believed they would get to the bunker faster with him in the lead then so be it.

After strapping the baby into the car seat, Sam settled into the seat next to her and belted himself in. He watched as Gabriel took one last look at the house before snapping his fingers, making the entire property and everything inside the house disintegrate into ash.

End Chapter Four


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five

 _The woman lay sleeping on the bed with a small smile on her lips. Her cousin sat on a makeshift chair in the corner of the room staring down at the infant in her arms with a frown._

 _The flash of dark eyes made Gabriel gasp as he realized that the midwife was actually Michael. The woman must have agreed to allow his oldest brother to take her as a vessel._

 _Gabriel fell to his knees before his brother. "Please Michael. Please, do not harm my child," he begged, tears spilling down his cheeks._

 _Michael looked at him through the midwife's eyes._

 _"Do you hate us so much that you would make yourself a new family?" he asked, a single tear falling from his vessel's eye. Gabriel shook his head._

 _"Of course not, brother. I never meant to father a child. I didn't know I could. But now that I have, I want it. I've never wanted anything more," he admitted._

 _"Him," Michael whispered._

 _"What?"_

 _"It's a boy, Gabriel. You have son."_

 _Gabriel felt dazed. A son. He was a father—the first and only angel to ever get that title._

 _"A boy," he repeated, still in shock._

 _Michael looked back down at the baby who had wrapped his tiny fist around his uncle's finger._

 _"Return to heaven with me, brother. And I swear that your child will be protected."_

 _It was a better offer than Gabriel ever thought he would get. "I will," he promised eagerly._

 _Michael kissed the child above his right eye, leaving a special mark that proclaimed to all heaven and hell that to harm this child would invite the wrath of heaven's most fearsome warrior._

 _"Thank you," Gabriel whispered gratefully as Michael handed the baby to him._

 _He stared down at his son in awe that he helped make another living creature. He wondered briefly if this was what God felt when he created._

 _The features of the baby greatly resembled his mother, though he would grow and change as time went on. However, Gabriel was absurdly pleased to see his own amber eyes blink open and look up at him._

 _He kissed his son and gently laid him beside his mother on the bed._

 _Gabriel turned sad eyes to his brother. "I am ready," he said, feeling a lump in his throat. Michael sighed in exasperation._

 _"Gabriel, you are not forbidden from visiting him or watching him grow. Stop acting like such a martyr."_

 _Michael left and Gabriel caught the vacated vessel lowering her safely to the bed beside her cousin before following his brother, his heart feeling lighter than it had since his Father left._

What should have been a two day trip only took about eight hours.

Dean had been upset when he realized that regardless of whether his foot was on the gas or his hands on the wheel, the car drove and steered itself. The whole vehicle seemed to become insubstantial and literally "passed through" traffic. The gas gauge never lowered, and Dean never felt the need to go to the bathroom or stop for food. After a good thirty minutes of freaking out and ranting while Castiel just looked at him pityingly, Dean finally relaxed.

As much as he enjoyed a good long road trip, he was anxious to get home to the bunker where it would be safe. "How you feeling, Cas?" he asked, unable to stand the quiet, but just not in the mood to listen to music.

Castiel had been staring out the window, but turned to face Dean at the question.

"Tired. After I was banished from the house, Gabriel caught me. It only blew us across town. It would have taken me much further if he had not caught me. And I..." he stopped and swallowed.

The very human action bothered Dean a lot. He knew from experience that when Castiel started acting more human, it meant the angel was deteriorating. "You what, Cas?" he prompted.

"I almost died, Dean. The damage done to my vessel was too much for this stolen grace to heal. I was burning up, and then Gabriel saved me. I'm not sure exactly what he did. Maybe he froze it, I don't know, but I still feel it getting hotter and I'm afraid it will burnout even faster this time."

Dean shook his head as if he could stop Castiel's words from being true. Almost without thought, Dean's hand grabbed Castiel's and gripped it tight.

"Gabe stopped it from killing you once, he can do it again," he insisted, stubbornly keeping his eyes on the road even though it wasn't necessary.

Castiel squeezed his hand, but didn't say anything. The angel leaned back and turned to stare out the window again, but did not let go of Dean's hand.

Sam sighed in his sleep and turned his head toward the window. Gabriel's eyes flicked up to follow the movement, but relaxed when the hunter did not waken.

They had barely gone five miles before Sam had started with the questions. At first he questioned Gabriel about Jonathan and Katrina and his connection to them. The archangel refused to answer, promising to tell all but only one time where everyone could hear at once. Sam had pouted, but let it go.

Then his questions had started about the baby. What was he going to name her? Where would she live? Etc... Gabriel didn't have answers to those questions and had used a little more power to make Sam fall asleep. It probably wasn't the smartest move, seeing as how he was draining himself by keeping the needs of four and a half bodies satisfied and two cars traveling without using gas.

He knew as soon as they reached the bunker he would have to tell all. Also, there was no way to know how long Castiel had before the grace burned him up, so that would probably have to be resolved as well.

His gaze turned to the baby and was surprised to see her awake. Her amber eyes were filled with more intelligence than a newborn should posses. He sighed and looked away.

Gabriel had many miles to go before he could sleep.

Sam yawned as he carried the baby into the bunker. The little girl was sleeping again, and he wasn't sure where to put her. He headed to his room; thinking that he could pull out a drawer from his dresser, use it as a makeshift crib. He reached the room and looked for a good place to set her down safely while he got the drawer, but then realized that Gabriel had followed him and turned to hand her to him. The archangel held up his hands and stepped back quickly.

"No can do, Sammo. You keep her for now," he said, sounding to Sam like the old Gabriel for the first time that night. "This your room?" Sam nodded, frowning.

Gabriel turned to a blank wall and snapped his fingers. A door appeared, and the archangel stumbled and nearly fell over with exhaustion.

"Gabriel? Are you alright?" Sam asked, worried.

The archangel gave him a weak smile then plopped down on Sam's bed. "I will be in a minute. Get her settled, will ya?"

Sam turned back to the new door, unsure of what to expect.

Logically, the dimensions of the bunker would not allow space for another room at that particular spot, but then Sam didn't have a logical answer for how the bunker had electricity and running water so he wasn't going to waste too many brain cells on trying to figure it out.

Hesitating only slightly, Sam pushed the door open and stepped into one of the most beautiful baby nurseries he had ever seen. Not that he'd seen many...

The entire room was decorated in pale pink and gray owls. The crib, changing table and dresser were white, the two rocking chairs were also white, but held pink and gray cushions. There was even a futon and a sink with a large basin suitable for bathing.

The changing table had several shelves below it packed with diapers, wipes, Desitin, and several other essentials.

Since the baby still seemed content, Sam decided a bath was the first thing she needed, but suddenly found himself doubtful as to how to precede. Katrina had made him promise to look after the baby, but he really didn't know much about them. Dean had always been the expert when it came to dealing with kids, not him.

Dean showed up at the door almost as if summoned by Sam's thoughts. "Wow, made a few additions?" he asked, looking around with interest.

"Dean, I have no idea what to do," Sam said trying to hand the baby to him. Dean shook his head.

"No Sammy, I'm here to teach you, not do it for you." Sam sighed but nodded.

"Okay, what do I do?"

Forty five minutes later the baby was fed, diapered, dressed in pajamas and tucked into her new crib. "Newborns are supposed to eat every couple of hours, so have fun with that," Dean said, slapping Sam on the back and leaving the room.

Sam frowned at the sleeping baby but turned off the light and slipped out being sure to grab the small attachment to the baby monitor so he could listen for her cries.

Gabriel was still lying on Sam's bed, but he opened his eyes to regard the brothers silently as they came into the room and shut the nursery door.

"So, you just whipped all that up?" Dean asked, looking suspicious. Gabriel huffed out a laugh.

"Of course not. Katrina put all that together. We had been on the run so much; I made her a portable room so she could work on it whenever or wherever we ended up. Pretty convenient, huh?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"Yes," Sam admitted, feeling a little sad as he remembered the woman who had taken her own life so that he would save her baby.

"Gabriel, you are wasting too much power on things like this," Castiel's voice coming from the hallway startled all of them. Gabriel waved away his concern.

"Nah, it's fine. I'm an archangel, and though my power is not limitless, my 'batteries' will recharge eventually," he insisted.

Castiel stared at him for a moment and then shook his head. "Dean, you mentioned something about making breakfast?" Castiel asked, afraid his burning grace would attempt to assuage the hunger pains.

"Yeah, sure thing, Cas, but then it's story time with Gabe," Dean said glaring at the archangel. Gabriel winked at him and got up from the bed.

"I want pancakes," he announced rushing past them to head to kitchen. Dean looked disgruntled.

"Fine, but only because I want them too," he grumbled.

End Chapter Five


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Six

 _Over the next thirteen years, Gabriel made a valiant effort to support Michael in Heaven. Unfortunately, this meant most of his days took place in the company of Zachariah. Every moment he had alone with Michael, he voiced his distaste for the wretched excuse of an angel._

 _Michael grew weary of his complaints and refused to hear any more, so Gabriel turned his energies toward making mischief for Zachariah, using tactics taught to him by Lucifer. Michael was livid when he learned what Gabriel was doing with his time._

 _"That's enough brother! If you don't wish to help me manage heaven along with Zachariah then perhaps you should go spend time with your son!"_

 _He didn't have to tell Gabriel twice._

 _Daniel had just reached his thirteenth year when Gabriel entered his life. He was saddened to learn that Daniel's mother had died the year before and the boy had believed himself to be an orphan. At first, the boy was slow to trust the magical being that surrounded him with riches and the best of everything, but soon the archangel's love had begun to fill that empty space in his heart that had been left by his mother._

 _Gabriel did not miss another day of Daniel's life. He celebrated his son's first hunt and kill with him. He stood with him at his marriage. He was there for the birth of all five of his son's children. Michael came for their births as well, blessing each one with his special mark of protection as he had promised._

 _It was but the smallest of moments, the blink of an eye, when Gabriel suddenly found himself by his son's death bed. Daniel had celebrated his one hundred and fifth birthday the week before. It was unheard of to live that long, but Daniel had always been special. Gabriel had arrived in his son's room intending to heal him, but his son told him not to._

 _Daniel was old and tired. All of his peers were dead and he longed to join his wife in heaven._

 _"Then I shall go with you and we will spend eternity together!" Gabriel proclaimed, offering his hand._

 _"No, Father! Please, you must stay and look after my children and grandchildren. The world is cruel and they need you far more than I do."_

 _Gabriel had thought that nothing would ever hurt as much as his Father leaving. He had been wrong._

 _A few hours after the reaper had left with the soul of his son, Gabriel sat in the bedroom of his youngest grandchild, a girl who had not yet reached her second birthday. She slept contentedly in the warmth of his arms as he rocked her._

 _There was a slight shift in the air as Michael, in a new vessel, appeared behind him._

 _"Daniel has safely made it to his heaven," he informed Gabriel in lieu of a greeting. The younger archangel nodded stiffly, tightening his grip on the sleeping girl._

 _"And was it worth it, brother? Wasting all these years on the life of one man when you could have been helping me manage heaven?"_

 _Gabriel stifled a sob, and buried his face in the child's hair._

 _Michael was taken aback at the display of emotion and carefully moved toward his brother. Slowly, he eased the sleeping child out his arms and settled her in her bed. Then he turned back to Gabriel and pulled him into his arms._

 _Michael tried to soothe him as he sobbed in a murmur against Gabriel's hair, "Oh Gabriel, your cries break my heart! How I long to hear your laughter again."_

 _"I fear I may never laugh again," Gabriel gasped in between sobs. When he was cried out, Michael tightened his arms._

 _"You will not be returning to heaven, will you?" he asked._

 _"Will you revoke your protection?" Gabriel countered, hesitantly._

 _"No, your line will be protected as long as I am in heaven," Michael swore._

"Where to begin?" Gabriel wondered aloud as they all settled around a table in the library.

The group was much more relaxed with full stomachs and the knowledge that they were protected in the bunker.

"Why don't you try the beginning?" Castiel suggested helpfully. Gabriel rolled his eyes, but started anyway.

"Okay, so in the beginning Dad made the heavens and the Earth and blah, blah, blah. He made all these angels, but decided they needed someone to boss them around so he made the archangels. Mikey and Raphe were the soldiers and Lucy was supposed to be the pretty one that would put the humans more at ease. But of course Luce didn't like the new babies that Dad brought home, so that didn't work very well. That's where I come in. Dad trained me himself, making sure that I loved humans. And he gave me a gift. One I never understood the significance of at the time." Gabriel paused for (over) dramatic effect, "A human form!"

"Oooo, ahhh," the archangel crowed, causing Sam's lips to twitch, but Castiel gasped.

"Wait. Are you saying that that is not a vessel you are wearing?" he demanded, incredulously.

"Nope. It's one hundred percent archangel. Just another form of the original matter that makes up me," he said with a big fake smile.

Dean blinked and tried to understand Castiel's reaction. "So? You get to be a human without having to get some poor bastard's consent to wear his skin. While definitely a perk as far as angels go, I don't understand what the big deal is," the older brother admitted.

"Oh, neither did I Dean-o, but let's not get ahead of ourselves!"

Gabriel waited until all eyes were on him again.

"So what happened next? Well, Luce was naughty, Mike locked him up, Raph punished his 'friends', and Dad left town. No forwarding address. Trust me, we looked." The archangel's eyes turned troubled as he continued. "Over the years things progressively got worse. Raph tried to overthrow Mike; both hunted the nephilim to near extinction. I tried to stay out of the fighting. Ran to the humans I was born to love. Saved a woman's life, she thanked me in an x-rated way and badda boom, badda bing, I became a dad."

It was so silent in the library you could hear a pin drop.

"You had a kid. And it wasn't a nephilim?" Sam was the first to speak.

"A son. He wasn't exactly human, but he wasn't nephilim either. His... his name was... was Daniel. I n-named him after my favorite prophet," the archangel wiped at the tears that had fallen and shook his head. "Over two millennium have past since I buried him, and still it hurts like it was last week," he confessed, looking down to compose himself.

He felt Sam's hand on his shoulder and took comfort from the warm strength of it.

When he looked up again his face and eyes were dry and demeanor was carefree again. His audience knew it was only a mask.

"Anyway, Michael knew right away that Daniel was not like the nephilim. He promised to protect my bloodline. And his protection was very powerful. My bloodline thrived and heaven suddenly held little interest for me."

"My son had kids, they had kids, and they had kids, and so on and so forth. Every generation had an Uncle Gabe and an Uncle Mike that kept them safe. Things were good. And then one day John Winchester made a deal. It's what started it all you know? There was a lot of money on him being the 'righteous man' who would start the apocalypse, but then he didn't have a little brother to play the role of the devil in the big stage show."

Sam and Dean were both intently studying the floor, while Castiel gave him an exasperated look. Gabriel shrugged.

"Oh, I'm sorry, does it hurt to talk about your past? Wow, had no idea guys, so sorry," he bit out sarcastically. Dean glared at him while Sam gave him a 'kicked-puppy' look. "Of course I couldn't help getting close enough to get a good look at the two of you. I was dismayed to see that you were exactly what the 'upper management' of heaven were looking for. I knew they would press and manipulate 'till the two of you were right where they wanted. There wasn't anything I could do to stop it. And though Mike and Raph promised to keep the existence of my line a secret, I could not trust that they would not use my family to manipulate me. I couldn't risk hurt to them..." he trailed off, mind a million miles away."

"I never knew. I mean, I knew you liked staying on Earth but I thought you were just doing what God wanted you to do," Castiel admitted.

"Are you saying that everything you did to us, Groundhog's Day, TV Land, all that was just to suck up to your brothers?" Dean demanded.

"They had to believe that I was on there side, Dean. Better to just fall in line then wait around and be ordered to do it. So, I played my part. I did what I had to do keep them off my back. And when it all went to hell, I faked my death and gave you the information you needed to stop it all. Satisfied that the spotlight would be off of me and my family could stay in the dark. And then Michael joined Lucifer in the cage, breaking the protection that he had placed on my line."

Sam flinched at that, color draining from his face.

"What did they need protection from?" Castiel asked.

"An alliance of Nephilim and demons emerged once Michael was gone. They have been killing off my family one by one for the last five years. Jonathan was the last."

"Except for the baby," Sam interjected.

Gabriel opened his mouth and then shut it.

"She's different. She's special," he said, looking away.

Sam pulled a rumpled picture from his pocket.

"So, this is Jonathan as a child? And is this Michael using our dad as a vessel?" Sam asked putting the photo on the table so that everyone could see it.

Gabriel nodded and smiled fondly at the old photo.

The wail of the special newborn sounded out of the baby monitor in Sam's hand, effectively ending story time.

Gabriel poked his head into the nursery for the first time since he had popped it into existence. Sam was gently rocking the baby back to sleep after feeding and changing her. He looked up at the archangel with a guilty and pained expression.

"And just what are you brooding about?" he demanded, leaning against the doorway and crossing his arms.

Sam shook his head and put a finger to his lips.

He gently rose to his feet and carefully put the baby into the crib, sighing with relief when she stayed asleep. Sam motioned for Gabriel to leave and quickly followed him, gently shutting the door behind him.

"That's the third time I've tried to put her down and she kept waking up," he explained and walked over to his dresser to find something to sleep in.

"You didn't answer my question," Gabriel said with narrowed eyes. Sam sighed.

"It's all my fault."

"Care to elaborate?" Gabriel asked when Sam didn't say anything else.

"Michael's protection ended when he fell into the cage. I'm the one who pulled him in there..." Sam confessed, miserable.

"Stop," Gabriel commanded.

"No, but Gabe, if I had just pushed-"

"I said stop, Sam. You couldn't have known. You were in an impossible situation and did the best you could. I knew from the moment I gave you the information on trapping Lucifer that this was a real possibility... that I might lose Michael as well. That is not on you, it's on me. As for my family, the only ones I blame are the nephilim and the demons that killed them. I will hunt them all down and destroy them for what they have done."

Later Sam wouldn't be able to say why he did what he did. Maybe it was the fiercely protective look in Gabriel's' golden eyes, or the tired and worn smile on his face. Or maybe it was just that after nine years of trying to figure this being out, he finally saw the real Gabriel. And this Gabriel was so incredibly and perfectly human that Sam just couldn't help himself.

As Sam leaned down, his intention covered his face. Gabriel knew what he was going to do, and Sam gave him plenty of time to step away. So when Sam felt the warm sweetness of Gabriel's lips against his own he nearly laughed with delight.

Sensing Sam's amusement, Gabriel changed the kiss and laughter to moans of desire as he pressed up against the tall man. Sam's hands ran up the archangel's arms, over his shoulders and down his back to grip his ass. Gabriel took the hint jumped up wrapping his legs around Sam's waist. They both groaned at being pressed so close together.

Sam broke the kiss to pull in a ragged breath.

"Gabe," he whispered, panting.

Sam had just enough time to see the flash of panic in the amber eyes before Gabriel was touching his head with two fingers and everything went dark.

Dean sat on the floor of his bedroom surrounded by his guns. It had been a while since he had given them a good cleaning. He should be tired, but worry for Castiel made him antsy. The angel was currently curled up in Dean's bed snoring. He couldn't explain why, but Dean had this intense need to keep him close. The angel's confession about nearly dying earlier that day had affected him more than he had let on—not that he would admit it.

There was a soft knock on his door.

"Come in," he called, not worrying about waking Castiel. Gabriel came in looking around the room curiously.

"Where's Sam?" Dean asked, as he methodically took the clip out of the next gun and picked up a cloth.

"Sleeping, like Cas," he said, watching his brother snore for a moment.

"He said he almost died earlier, but you fixed him. Can you do it again?" Dean asked, not looking at the archangel. Gabriel sighed.

"No, Dean. I was able to extend the life of that grace, but it's about to burn and it will take Castiel with it." Dean looked up at that.

"Okay, so we hunt down a rogue angel and take their grace?" Dean asked, desperation leaking into his voice. Gabriel winced.

"There aren't many 'rogue' angels right now, and none that deserve that. Castiel wouldn't thank you for doing something like that anyway," he said as he walked over to Dean and sat cross-legged in front of him.

"Then what? We just let him die?" Dean demanded, frustrated.

"Of course not. There is only one thing to be done, and you are looking at the only one on Earth that can do it," Gabriel said. Dean raised his eyebrows in question.

"I can remove the grace entirely. Let it burn itself out where it can't hurt anyone."

"You can? Then do it, what the hell are you waiting for?" Dean asked impatiently. Gabriel shook his head.

"Castiel will be nothing more than human again if I do this," he explained.

"So? At least he'll be alive!"

The archangel sighed, "I got the feeling he wasn't too fond of being human before. He might rather die than go through it again." Dean shook his head.

"No, he would have been fine if I'd... it was all my fault. Sam was dying and Gadreel convinced me that he was the only who could save my brother but Cas had to stay away or he wouldn't do it," Dean explained, praying that Gabriel would understand.

"I don't know," the archangel said, seemingly unconvinced.

"If he had been with me, I would have shown him how good being human could be. I wasn't there for him and he had to figure it out for himself. I regret that so much. And I swear this time will be different. Please Gabe, I can't lose him again," Dean pleaded.

Gabriel's eyes seemed to glow as they searched Dean's. He stood and beckoned for Dean to follow him over to where Castiel lay. "Swear it, Dean. Speak your vow," the archangel's entire body was glowing now and Dean could vaguely see the outline of wings protruding from his back. He wasn't sure where the words came from, but as he spoke each one he felt their weight and promise. "I swear that I will not leave him. I swear that I will teach and protect him to the best of my abilities for the rest of my days."

The last thing Dean saw before Gabriel became too bright to look at was the archangel's hand reaching toward Castiel's throat.

Suddenly the light was gone. Castiel was still peacefully sleeping and Gabriel looked normal again as he held out a small metallic box.

"May it be as you have said."

"Really? That's it? He's okay now?" Dean pressed as he studied Castiel. He didn't look any different.

"Yes. He'll be fine now. You know, for a human," Gabriel quipped with a small grin.

Dean nodded but kept his eyes on the former angel. "I have to leave now. This needs to be safely disposed of and I'm ready to finish avenging my family."

The hunter looked up at that. "Wait! We should go with you-" he began but Gabriel interrupted him, snorting in amusement.

"No, Dean, I'll be fine on my own. As long as that baby's existence remains a secret they will believe I have nothing left to lose. No room for negotiation. I appreciate the offer, but you three will only be a liability to me."

"But surely there is something we could do," Dean said.

"Keep her safe and secret. I will return when it's over. T-tell Sam I'm sorry for tonight. And that we'll talk when it's finished."

End Chapter Six


	8. Chapter 8

*Warning for murder of a child- not descriptive/ and brief Gabriel/Sam sex at the end- but don't worry anon who complained, I updated it so your imagine can work a little harder. If anyone would like to read the original version, it is on AO3.

Chapter Seven

 _One Year Ago-_

 _Gabriel sat on the stool of a bar nursing a tumbler of whiskey. He was glad the bar was dark so no one could see the tears that ran down his cheeks. He could have made himself invisible, it would have been safer, but part of him longed to find a connection with someone._

 _Four years ago, he had had over six hundred living descendants. He had lost nearly one hundred of them before he realized what was going on. The nephilim had been hiding for thousands of years just waiting for their moment to get revenge for what Gabriel and his brothers had done to their kin so long ago. They recruited demons to their cause and though Gabriel killed more and more each day, there were always more to finish their work._

 _Heather had been three years old and the youngest of his descendants, a happy child who had found a special place in his heart. The nephilim took great delight in ripping her apart in front of him as he had been trapped in a ring of burning holy oil unable to do anything but promise revenge._

 _Jonathan had arrived too late to do anything but release Gabriel from his prison. Together they had cried over Jonathan's niece. Gabriel cursed Michael for being so stubbornly caught up in the apocalypse that he couldn't be there to protect them now._

 _Four years of hunting the nephilim and desperately trying to protect his descendants and their number had only dropped from six hundred to fifty-seven._

 _He was so tired. Tired of running and fighting. Tired of burying his descendants. More than anything though, he missed his brother, Michael._

 _And it was in this frame of mind that Gabriel met Katrina._

Over the next month Dean and Sam lived the most domestically they ever had. Sam spent most of his time caring for the baby, who he had flippantly decided to call 'Katie' a week after Gabriel left. He felt it homage to Katrina, and if Gabriel didn't like it they could change it. It wasn't like they put it on a birth certificate or anything permanent.

Dean spent most of his time helping Castiel relearn to be human. When the former angel had awoken, needing to urinate, he figured out pretty quickly what had happened. He was upset that this had been done to him without his consent and tried to argue with Dean about it, but the hunter refused to engage.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Cas. But I was not going to live without you. You wanna be mad, be mad. But don't expect an apology from me."

After that, Castiel seemed to better accept what had happened and put more effort into being human. The human training quickly advanced to hunting training and soon the pair was going on a hunt.

"It's fine Dean. You need to get out of here and Cas needs the experience. Someone has to stay with Katie," Sam had said when Dean pitched the idea to him.

His brother had been delighted at Sam's acceptance and soon he and Castiel were packed up and ready to go. "It's only a few towns over. An hour drive max," Dean said, shouldering his duffel.

Sam had wished them well, waving Katie's hand at them as she dozed on his shoulder.

About four hours after they left Sam got a call from town's local law enforcement wanting to verify Dean and Castiel's positions with the FBI. Sam played his part and made a convincing FBI director. Though it was slightly nerve-racking due to his lack of practice. Still, it felt good to contribute.

He hung up feeling like he had accomplished something, and was surprised to realize that he didn't miss it, the hunting part. He felt perfectly content to research and man the phones at the bunker where he could take care of Katie. The idea of leaving her had become abhorrent to even consider.

She was definitely a good distraction from thinking about Gabriel. Though her amber eyes reminded him constantly of the archangel.

Sam hoped that Gabriel was alright. He both longed for and dreaded a reunion with him. Part of him still couldn't believe that he'd had the balls to kiss an archangel. But then, Gabriel had kissed him back. Sam just couldn't understand why he would run away after that.

Dean and Castiel returned three days later. Sam could not remember the last time he had seen his brother so angry.

"Did you get the ghost?" Sam asked, hesitantly as Dean slammed things and cursed under his breath. Castiel nodded but didn't say anything. Dean grabbed a beer from the kitchen then walked out to the library and started pacing. Castiel sighed and sat down in one of the chairs with a martyred expression on his face.

"Okay, Dean. Let's hear it," the former angel prompted.

Dean sat the beer down on the table without taking a sip and began to rant.

He detailed every thing that Castiel had done wrong. Raged about what idiotic decisions the trench coat clad man had made. Castiel took it all without flinching. When Dean stopped for a breath, they all heard Katie cry through the monitor.

"And why the hell is she still here? Seriously, Sam, we should leave her on the doorstep of church. Not a single one of us has any business raising a kid," he bitched, then took a swallow of the beer and grimaced.

Sam opened his mouth, but Castiel shook his head. Deciding that arguing with Dean was not how he wanted to spend his evening, Sam headed toward the nursery without a word.

"I need a real drink," Dean said, and stomped out of the bunker.

Sam changed Katie and was rocking her while feeding her a bottle when Castiel came in and sat in the other rocker. "He didn't mean any of it Sam," he said with a frown.

"What happened, Cas?"

"Well, one of the ghost's victims looked a lot like me. He even had a very similar coat. When Dean found his body, he thought it was me at first. We took care of the ghost, but the whole experience left Dean very shaken. I may not have been at my best, but I was never in any danger. I think he was just scared, though his reaction seemed to be a bit uncalled for."

Sam nodded and allowed himself to relax a bit. Castiel was right; Dean just needed to blow off some steam. "I think you're right. It's been a while since Dean picked up a girl. He'll be back to normal tomorrow."

The color drained from Castiel's face, and Sam was suddenly afraid the guy was sick.

"You okay, Cas?"

"I'm fine, Sam. Just tired. I'm going to bed," Castiel said and left the room.

Castiel hadn't seemed tired to Sam. He'd looked upset.

Sam frowned as he set the bottle down and put Katie on his shoulder to burp her.

It suddenly occurred to him just why Castiel would be upset about Dean picking up a girl. With that thought came the reason why Dean would be so upset by almost losing Castiel...again.

Castiel and Dean had a thing? All these years they had been teased about it and even Sam had given Dean a hard time about it a time or two, but he'd never imagined that there might actually be something to it. Interesting.

He was jolted from his thoughts when Katie started to cry. He tried feeding her the last of her bottle with no luck. She didn't want to eat. He changed her, rocked her, and bounced her on his knee. The only change was that her cries had turned to screams. Sometimes she wouldn't make any noise at all, just open her mouth wide, turn red and not breathe. After almost an hour of this, Sam was about ready to take her to a hospital.

He had started to pack a diaper bag when Dean suddenly slammed into the room.

"Dean? What-"

Dean took Katie from his arms and pointed Sam toward the kitchen.

"Go make her a bottle," he instructed. Sam shook his head.

"I already tried to get her to eat, Dean," he protested.

"Just do it, Sam," Dean ordered and tucked the wailing baby close to his chest.

As Sam hurried to the kitchen he heard Dean begin to sing, "Hey Jude."

By the time the bottle was ready and Sam returned to the nursery, Katie had passed out in Dean's arms.

Sam relaxed but sent Dean an annoyed look as he set the wasted bottle down.

"What? We've plenty more where that came from and I needed to get you out of the room," Dean explained.

"Why?"

"You were frustrated and she was picking up on it. Babies are sensitive and sometimes you just have to walk away and let someone else give it a shot."

"Oh," Sam said and sat down in the empty rocker.

They quietly watched her sleep for a few minutes.

"I didn't mean it, Sam—none of it. Katie belongs with us. At least for now, we really are her best bet. Poor kid." Sam nodded, feeling even more relived. A few moments of companionable silence passed.

"So, you and Cas, huh?" Sam couldn't resist.

"Shut-up, Samantha!"

Two months later Sam woke up and looked at the clock on his nightstand. Once the time registered to his sleepy brain, and the fact that the baby monitor was no longer next to the clock, he quickly sat up in bed.

Katie should have woken him up with her cries a good two hours ago.

Sam hurried out of bed and to the nursery expecting to see Dean taking care of Katie and letting him sleep in. He should have known that Dean was not that nice.

"Dean, did you switch Katie to the new diapers?" he asked with a yawn, and then froze.

"Hmm, Katie," Gabriel was sitting in one of the rockers holding the baby, studying her face. Finally he nodded and smiled at her.

"I like it. Katie it is," he said then sent a smile to Sam.

"It's over, Sam. They're all dead. Little Katie here is safe. Well, safe from the nephilim anyway."

"Um, wow Gabe. That's great... So, what will you do now?" Sam asked, feeling a tendril of fear in his belly at the thought that the archangel might decide to leave and take Katie with him.

Gabriel stood up and kissed Katie's head. The baby immediately fell asleep and Gabriel placed her in the crib.

"That's cheating, you know," Sam commented sourly.

Gabriel smirked and grabbed Sam's hand to drag him into the bedroom.

"Let's call it, hitting the pause button. She would have fallen asleep on her own in a few minutes anyway. Besides, I hit a pause button on you a couple of months ago and I'd really like to finish that show now," the archangel said. Sam suddenly found himself on his back on the bed with a very affectionate and hands-y Gabriel on top of him.

"Gabe, wait," Sam protested. At least his mouth did, the rest of his body did not want to wait.

"C'mon, Sam! It's been three months of hell tracking down each one of those suckers and killing them. The thought that I would come home to this one day has been the only thing keeping me going," he confessed grabbing playfully at Sam's ass.

Before he could even try to respond, Gabriel kissed him so deeply and thoroughly that for a moment afterward Sam could not even remember what they had been talking about. And when he did remember, he didn't care.

A snap of fingers and every stitch of clothing was gone. Then Gabriel was trailing wet open-mouthed kisses from Sam's neck to his belly button.

The archangel looked up at him as he rested his chin on Sam's belly beside his dick and waggled his eyebrows.

"Gabe, I'm not gonna last long," was all Sam had time to say before he was engulfed in the warm wet mouth.

Sam groaned and tried to relax, but it had just been too long. Sighing he tugged at Gabriel's hair to bring his head up until he could reach his lips for another kiss. Then he spit into his palm and took them both in hand.

Gabriel moaned in approval and continued to kiss Sam, caressing every inch of skin he could reach. "Good idea, Sam. We'll go slower next time," Gabriel promised, panting.

It didn't last long and soon they we're crying out each other's names. They took a minute to catch their breaths and then Gabriel snapped his fingers, clearing away the mess.

"Perks of being an angel?" Sam asked with a breathy laugh.

"You ain't seen the half of it, buddy," Gabriel said cuddling close to Sam and pulling a blanket over them. They just relaxed, holding each other for a moment.

"What are you thinking about so hard, Sammy?" Sam flushed.

"Nothing we need to talk about now."

Gabriel blinked and turned his head so he could better see Sam's face.

"Now I'm curious. C'mon, what is it?"

"Katie. We need to make her a birth certificate and now the you seem to be over whatever aversion you had to her we probably should make you her father," Sam admitted.

Gabriel sat up and turned to look at Sam.

"It wasn't aversion, Sam. And I actually am her father," Gabriel confessed.

"What?"

"Jonathan was my last descendant. But five years ago, I had over six hundred and I lost them all to the nephilim. I met Katrina at very low point, less than a year ago. We had a connection and the rest was history."

"I don't understand, Gabe. If Katie is your daughter, then why wouldn't you even hold her when she was born?" Gabriel sighed.

"I couldn't love her then, Sam—just like I had to 'press the pause button' with you. I got to a point where I had no one and nothing that the nephilim could use against me. It was the only way to beat them."

Sam nodded, but still looked troubled. Gabriel leaned forward, laid his head on Sam's naked torso and stretched his legs out beside him.

"Even now, it's hard to let myself fall for you, knowing that one day I'll have to bury you. It's why I don't often 'connect' with humans. There have only been two of them before you. Humans, anyway..." Sam wrapped his arms around the archangel feeling a lump form in his throat at the true tragedy of Gabriel's long and lonely life.

And then something occurred to him.

"So, both time you 'connected' with humans in the past, you knocked them up?"

Gabriel considered the question for a moment.

"Yes, I did."

"Oh, God, you can't knock me up can you?!"

And for the first time in over two thousand years, the youngest archangel laughed.

End


End file.
